Taysom Hill is one of the most versatile players in the NFL

A running back who lines up as a slot receiver. A wide receiver who throws a pass out of the wildcat. A punter who also kicks field goals. A linebacker who can play as a down defensive lineman.

An NFL player who can play multiple positions is incredibly valuable to his team. It helps with roster construction, obviously, but it also forces opposing teams to not key in on only one aspect of a player’s skill set.

Pro Football Focus recently highlighted some of the NFL’s most versatile players, and of course, the Saints QB/WR/TE/HB/KR/ST Taysom Hill was the first name mentioned:

Hill is the poster boy for versatility. He’s the only QB/TE/KR’s I can recall in NFL history. Hill took 58 snaps at quarterback, 58 snaps as an inline tight end, 12 snaps as a running back, 21 from the slot, 33 out wide, and he was a core four special teamer. With his size and speed, don’t be surprised if Sean Payton finds a role for him on the Saints’ defense next season.

An interesting idea - that hopefully never comes up - is how would the franchise tag work if applied to Taysom Hill?

If you recall, Jimmy Graham contested the price of the franchise tag placed on him, stating that he lined up more often as a wide receiver than a tight end. He ultimately lost that fight, with the Saints successfully tagging Graham specifically (and only) as a tight end. In that same grain, would Taysom’s versatility change his position for purposes of a potential franchise tag? Would Taysom theoretically be tagged as a quarterback? It would seem that to argue otherwise would be taking an opposing stance to the one taken by the Saints with Jimmy Graham.

Oh well. Hopefully it never comes to that, and the Saints can benefit from Taysom’s versatility at a relatively modest price moving forward.

The NFC South had another player make PFF’s list in Christian McCaffrey of the Carolina Panthers.